


Heaven Ain't Close in a Place Like This

by mythicalqueen



Category: Agent Carter (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, Roller Derby
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-05
Updated: 2016-02-17
Packaged: 2018-03-16 12:07:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 18,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3487652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mythicalqueen/pseuds/mythicalqueen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Peggy enjoyed coming to see the derbies when she found the time and got the tickets. </p><p>And somehow, a certain cheerful skater convinced her to join the team.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so this is not my first fic. It is, however, my first Cartinelli fic, my first ao3 fic, and my first fic that is kinda to a prompt (which reminds me, credit for the idea goes to queercarters.tumblr.com), so it may not be great. Okay, yeah, it's not great.
> 
> Also, sorry the title doesn't actually make much sense. I suck at titles.

The large, banked track was surrounded by far too many people, the vast majority of them cheering their favorite team on quite loudly. Though she was annoyed by the crowd a bit, Peggy admired the stamina of the women who raced around the track, and their ability to put up a fight. She enjoyed coming to see the derbies when she found the time and got the tickets. This particular evening, she’d managed to shove and weave her way passed the countless leering men and to the front, as she usually did. She watched and cheered on the New York team that had a habit of winning. They had a good jammer, of course, one of the best there was. She was referred to as “Angie Get Your Gun.” The four blockers were amazing, too, but none of them seemed to be as good as the jammer, with the exception of “Black Widow.” Angie was definitely the best skater, but Black Widow was incredible at the contact part of the sport.

There was a radio announcer somewhere, narrating the girls’ every move as they circled the rink. Unsurprisingly, New York was up, though only by a couple points, Peggy noted as Black Widow tripped the opposing team’s jammer, causing her to nearly fall off of the slightly elevated track. Peggy smiled slightly at that, realizing that time was almost up and at this point it would be nearly impossible for New York to lose this match. Soon, a buzzer from somewhere rang out and the skaters all slowed to halt and moved to even ground. Most of the crowd cheered, though there were a few boo’s that could be heard above the noise if you listened for them hard enough. New York’s team skated together and congratulated each other excitedly as the numerous spectators began to file out. 

Peggy could see one of the blockers whose name she couldn’t recall or read from where she was pull all of her teammates aside. The team seemed at least mildly angered and said a few things back, though the British woman was too far to hear. The first blocker skated away, but the others continued to converse. She saw a few shrugs and head shakes before they disbanded. Peggy crossed her arms across her torso and turned to leave. She didn’t get very far before something- or someone, rather- ran into her, causing her to lose her footing and fall rather ungracefully. 

“Oh, I’m sorry, I’m so clumsy,” she heard a voice with hints of a New York accent say before she turned or attempted to stand. 

“It’s alright,” she responded, getting to her feet and turning to face whoever it was that ran into her. The face was a somewhat familiar one, though it was the outfit with the nickname written across it.

“Angie Martinelli,” the skater introduces, holding out her hand for Peggy to shake. She did, the corners of her red lips twitching upwards slightly at the same time.

“Peggy Carter. Congratulations on the win, tonight, Miss Martinelli.”

“Thanks. You a fan, English?” The nickname came out before Angie really thought about, though the other woman didn’t seem to mind.

“I bit, I suppose. I come to matches sometimes.”

“It’s nice to know that not everyone in the crowd is a pushy, married soldier that’s looking for a fling. Sorry ‘bout running into you, English, I’m just a bit distracted. One of our best blockers just quit. Couldn’t hack it I guess.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine, really. She was a bit of a crier. You don’t get many of those in the derby, but she was one. Say, you wouldn’t wanna join, would ya, English?” Angie asked.

“Oh, I’m not really much of a skater, I’m afraid,” Peggy admitted. Angie looked her up and down quickly before returning her gaze to meet the brunette’s. 

“Doesn’t matter when you’ve got legs like yours,” she responded. Peggy’s cheeks turned a bit pinker, and she hoped the skater wouldn’t notice. She didn’t seem to, only continued to smile brightly and hopefully. It would be hard to say no to a face like that. Peggy smiled again, though this time it was more apologetic.

“Really, I’ve only skated a few times. I wouldn’t want to bring your team down.”

“Doubt that you would. You’d at least get us a bigger crowd,” Angie remarked, causing Peggy to blush lightly once again, though she covered it by laughing a bit and ducking her head down. “Well,” the American added, “if you change your mind, we have practice here tomorrow at six. I don’t think any of the others will’ve found a new girl by then.”

“Alright, then, Miss Martinelli.”

“Please, English. Call me Angie.”

“Goodbye, Angie.” With that, Peggy turned and walked away. She’d already mostly made up her mind not to go, but a small part of her that seemed to be growing a bit each second was telling her to join the team. She had a feeling that it was probably partially due to the woman who was currently skating away from her. She looked around, noticing that no one else was left in the rink, save for a skater or two who were now out of their skates and making to leave. The British woman grinned to herself as she walked out into the cold night air. There were several cabs that had come round, knowing that people would need rides from the match. She hailed one quickly and sat in the back, absentmindedly telling the driver her address. 

Once she reached her destination, paid, and stepped out, a single thought crossed her mind, though only for a moment as she was still planning on not going, despite that irritating voice in the back of her head telling her to: I don’t even own skates. 

She shook her head at herself slightly and quickly made her way to her apartment. She knew she had to be at the telephone company early and it was obvious to her that even if she did hurry, she wouldn't get much sleep at that point. She prepared for bed within only a few minutes and tries not to think about Angie’s offer or her smile when she turns out the light on her table and shuts her eyes.

 

*

Peggy arrived at the telephone company just on time, as usual. She sat down in her usual spot, right in front of the board, connecting calls and repeating the same phrases with slight modifications over and over again. It was quite boring and would’ve perhaps put her to sleep if not for all the coffee she’d downed earlier. 

Through the requests for calls, Peggy heard the endless sound of voices saying, “I’m sorry, that line is busy,” and “Please hold,” and “Could you please repeat that number, darling?” and, “Just one moment.” She supposed one of the perks of the job was that the callers couldn’t see your face, so you didn’t have to smile. Peggy found that she did, though, today more than usual.

“Hey, Peggy, you meet someone?” one of the girls asked between calls. 

“No. What makes you think that?” Peggy responded when she could.

“You’ve just got a smile on your face that’s a bit brighter than usual.”

“Hmm. Maybe it’s the coffee,” she replied. The answer didn’t make a bit of sense, not even to her, but she couldn’t think of a good explanation, other than the thought of maybe actually doing something. As the day wore on, she let her mind wander and consider the prospect of maybe, just maybe, going to the roller derby practice that evening. It would bring some excitement to her life and she was pretty sure she knew enough about fighting from the war to knock a few people down. Plus, she wouldn’t mind Angie’s company.

But the fact remained that Peggy had very little experience skating, and still didn’t have skates. She remembered that since her shift had started early that morning it would end early as well. She figured she could contact someone and have skates made, even if she wouldn’t make it to this night’s practice. And, she reasoned with herself, she could still quit later. Peggy was surprised by how quickly she’d managed to convince herself to join the team. She was sure she would make a fool of herself, but she was growing rather bored with her life. After fighting in a war, connecting calls and reading books was far too mundane. She wanted a purpose, and even if roller derby wasn’t much of one, it was at least something to do. 

When Peggy clocked out and left the telephone company that afternoon at four o’ clock, she went out and found the nearest telephone booth. She recognized the voice of the operator who connected her call and really hoped that they didn’t hear anything familiar with hers. She politely asked for Howard Stark and waited a moment or two to hear his voice. 

“This is Howard Stark,” he greeted.

“Hello, Howard. It’s Peggy. I wondered if you might make me something.”

“Peggy. Sure, what do you need?”

“Roller skates.”

“Roller skates? With what?”

“Nothing, just roller skates.”

“Just roller skates? You sure?”

“Yes, quite. Please don’t add any… enhancements, Howard. I don’t want them to explode or anything, please.”

“Then why are you asking me?”

“Because I would like them soon.”

“Why do you need roller skates?”

Peggy sighed. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

“Well, I am making them.” The woman didn’t respond for a bit. “You aren’t joining the derby or anything, are you?” Peggy smirked to herself.

“Just get me the skates, Howard.”

“Okay, okay. You’ll have them tomorrow.

“And please, let them just be skates,” she muttered as she hung up the phone and left the slightly cramped box. Noting that she was hungry having not eaten lunch that day, she decided to walk to a nearby automat that she’d seen before walking to and from work. It was only about three blocks away, so it didn’t take her long to reach the small building with a bright neon sign. She checked her watch, seeing that it was now 4:27. She figured it was a bit too early for most people to be out for dinner and far too late for lunch. If she was back in London, everywhere would be serving customers for tea. 

And thank god this wasn’t London, because Peggy wanted coffee and relative quiet. Most people figured that Peggy was a big tea enthusiast and that she hated coffee because she was British. Really, they could hardly be more wrong. Peggy drank coffee like it was the only thing keeping her alive, and it kind of was sometimes. At least, it was the only thing keeping her awake. For whatever reason, she found it more effective than tea, and though half of England may shame her for it, it was her personal belief that it tasted much better. So Peggy drank coffee, even though some people would automatically go to make tea for her after hearing her voice.

Peggy slipped in through the revolving doors and sat down at an empty booth, waiting for one of the two waitresses currently working to walk over and take her order. She tapped her finger tips lightly on the table, though not impatiently. It wasn’t long before a woman in a ridiculous uniform walked up to the small table.

“Hey, English,” a familiar voice greeted, causing Peggy to look up. 

“Oh, hello, Angie. I didn’t know that you worked here.”

“Why would you?” she paused just long enough for the British woman to shrug her shoulders before continuing, “What can I get for ya?”

“Just coffee, thanks.”

“Sure. Cream or sugar?”

“No, thank you.” Angie nodded and walked off, presumably to get Peggy her coffee. She did, and returned quickly to set the steaming mug down on the table.

“Ya know, I woulda pegged you as a tea drinker, English.” 

“You’re not alone there. I suppose America has corrupted my fine British tastes,” she responded sarcastically. Angie laughed lightly, before dropping into the booth, sitting across from Peggy.

“So, you coming tonight?” she asked, leaning over the table, her voice barely over a whisper.

“I’m afraid I haven’t got any skates.”

“Alright. You could still come, meet the girls, get the skates later.”

“Perhaps I will,” Peggy responded, deciding to not tell Angie that she was already getting skates made.

“My shift is over in,” Angie paused to look at the clock, “about 40 minutes. If you wanna wait, we could go together.” 

“Hey, lady, I been waiting for a refill,” some other customer yelled. Peggy noticed that the other waitress was now gone (and briefly wondered when she had left), so Angie rolled her eyes exaggeratedly and stood, smiling brightly at Peggy before going to serve the man. Peggy wasn’t quite sure how she managed the smile. She was sure she would’ve had to restrain herself from punching him. In fact, she really did, and she wasn't even the one who had to serve him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, okay, first of all, thanks for all the feedback on chapter one. Second, I am so sorry about the wait. It's been a busy couple of weeks for me. I'm going to try to get a new chapter up every 5-7 days, but I can't make any promises.

Peggy did end up waiting for Angie. She didn’t have anything better to do and she didn’t want to disappoint the waitress, so she sat in the booth and watched as the other woman worked on serving all the customers until another waitress came at about five o’ clock. Which, if Peggy remembered correctly, meant that Angie had about fifteen minutes left in her shift. Peggy began to drum her fingers lightly again, glancing at the clock every minute or two. She was already nearly done with her second cup of coffee. Angie had refilled it nearly twenty minutes ago, her having downed the first one rather quickly. She took a small sip and frowned slightly when she realized it had gone rather cold. The second one wasn’t really that hot to begin with, anyways. Angie had offered her pie, too, and Peggy had accepted, remembering that her initial reason for coming to the automat had been food. The plate was now empty, with only a few crumbs and a fork left on top. She gulped down the last little bit of her coffee and put some money on the table. She wasn’t sure how much the coffee or pie cost, but she was fairly sure she’d put at least double whatever it was down. 

Angie walked around to the booth to collect the dishes Peggy had finished with, and her smile broke a little when she saw the money. “Peg, I don’t know what kinda places you’ve been eating at, but this only costs half what you’ve left there.”

“I figured. The rest is the tip.”

“Oh, English, you don’t have to…” Angie trailed off awkwardly.

“I know, but I doubt you get good tips from the rest of these people. Not that you don’t deserve good tips, just that they don’t seem like the type to give them.”

“Oh, well, thanks, English.” The waitress gathered the dishes and picked up the money, too, but only after a moment. She went back behind the counter for a bit before returning to Peggy’s table. “Ready, English?” 

Peggy nodded a bit and smiled as she stood to follow Angie out to the crowded New York streets. The air was a bit chilly, but it wasn’t anything that they weren’t used to. They walked in unison to the nearest subway station and the Englishwoman followed Angie who knew the route that they had to take much better. The first train they got on was crowded and they’d had to squeeze into a corner for the few minutes it took to get to their stop, but the rest weren’t too bad. As they rode and waited, Angie chatted a bit about particularly annoying customers.

“You’ll love the girls,” she commented as the stepped out of the station and onto the sidewalk, weaving their way though passersby. “There’s Dottie, but you might know her as Black Widow. She says she’s a dancer from Iowa, but I’m not sure I buy it. I don’t know any other dancers who can fight like that, especially not ones from Iowa.” Peggy smiled, because she’d seen Dottie knock a girl out and agreed with Angie on that one. “Then there’s Bloody Mary. Mary. I guess it’s a bit obvious that that's her name though, isn't it? Anyways, she’s a legal secretary. And Evelyn is a lounge singer in midtown. She’s the Red Queen. I don’t really know why. She’s been there the longest. Dottie’s our newest. Well, besides you, I guess.” They arrived at the building where the rink was and Angie rushed to the changing rooms after telling Peggy to wait a minute.

And Peggy did.

When the four women skated out a few minutes later, she stood up a bit straighter than she had been after Angie had left her. Not that she had bad posture. “This is Peggy Carter. She’ll be joining our team, but she doesn’t have skates,” Angie informed the other three, smiling widely. 

“Hi, Peggy. I’m Dottie. It’s great to meet you,” the only blonde said cheerfully. Almost too cheerfully. And her smile was nearly too bright. Peggy still shook the hand offered to her.

“I’m Evelyn,” one of the slightly less familiar ones introduced, with a slight wave.

“Hello. I’m Mary,” the last one greeted, also waving a little. 

“Nice to meet all of you,” Peggy responded politely. 

“Okay, well now that we’ve got introductions out of the way, let’s practice. Since you don’t have skates, English, I guess you should just watch. We don’t usually go for long.”

“Alright, then.” The Englishwoman sat on a bench as the other girls skated to the large track. 

*

Angie wasn’t lying when she said that they didn’t usually go for long. It was less than an hour when the waitress skated over to the bench Peggy had been watching from. “Hey, English. I’m gonna go change. Wait for me?”

“Sure.”

“Thanks. I’ll only be a minute.” She headed towards the changing room and opened the door before disappearing behind it.

Angie emerged from the room not long after, wearing neither her roller derby nor automat uniform. Peggy smiled and walked beside her to the door. “We don’t have practice for a couple days,” the younger woman informed, before adding in an annoyed tone, “The men’s team gets it. But we’ll be back here on Tuesday at the same time. I’ll get the manager to come by then. And I know someone who can make skates, since you need them.”

“Thank you, but it’s alright. I know someone.” She, again, decided against telling Angie that she was already having them made. 

“You sure? He makes good skates for pretty cheap.”

“I’m sure. My… friend owes me. I’ll be fine,” Peggy replied as they walked towards the subway station. It wasn’t a lie. Howard Stark did owe her. His life. She’d saved him in the war, along with many others. Just not Steve, she hadn’t been able to save him. Oh, how she wished she could’ve saved him. She pushed those thoughts from her mind and instead tried to focus on what Angie was saying. She was asking what train she needed to get on. Peggy had to think about it for a moment before remembering how to get from the rink to her apartment by subway, but it did come to her, she told the other woman.

“Oh. I’m on another. See you around, English.”

“Goodbye, Angie.”

*

Peggy went to the automat the next morning to get coffee. She, of course, had no idea if Angie would be working there, but she hoped that she was. Well, most of her did anyways. There was a part of her warning her not to get to close. She wasn’t to close yet, though. She was still at a safe distance, and she trusted herself to keep it that way. 

Going to the diner where a person works is not getting too close to that person. So she went to the automat for coffee and allowed herself to smile when she saw  
Angie walking out of the kitchen with a couple plates and a mug. The waitress had taken the order to the table before she saw Peggy walking to the same booth she’d sat in the afternoon before. Her smile visibly grew, though, when she did notice her. She walked right over to the table. It wasn’t like she was ignoring other customers or anything. It was still early enough that it was only Peggy and the people that Angie had just served.

“Hey, English. Didn’t expect to see you again so soon. Coffee?”

“Yes, please. I work nearby. The telephone company.”

“Anything else?”

"No, just the coffee.”

“It’ll be right out.” With that, Angie went behind the counter across the room and filled a mug with still steaming coffee. “Here ya go, English,” she said when she returned and set the cup down.

“Thank you, Angie.” Peggy drank the coffee within minutes and left a tip as generous as her previous one. This time, however, she left before Angie came to collect it. Some other customer had walked in and the waitress was occupied with taking his order. She rushed to work, not wanting to be late. Not that she was eager to connect calls for hours on end, only that she prided herself somewhat on her punctuality. She sat down, sighed slightly, and prepared for a long, boring day.

*

Peggy didn’t go to the automat that evening after work. She figured that that would be too much and would eventually lead to being too close. She did call Howard, though. He answered the same way as he always did. It was always the same words and the same, cocky tone that made Peggy roll her eyes into oblivion.

“Hello, Howard,” she responded.

“Oh, Peggy. I’ve got the skates done, if you’re sure you don’t want anything extra.”

“Positive, thank you.”

“Okay, if you insist. I’ll have someone bring them to your apartment.” 

“I swear to god, Howard, if they explode…” she trailed off, assuming he understood.

“They won’t.”

“Thank you.” She hung up the phone and exited the booth- the same one she’d used the day before- quickly. She glanced across the street at the automat for a moment, half considering going, despite her own protests. She turned away and started towards her apartment. Angie probably wasn’t even there anyways, and she had no other reason to go. The food was awful and the coffee was weak and diluted. 

*

The next day lasted too long, at least until 5:30, when Peggy had left work and allowed herself to go to the automat. Angie was there and got her coffee without even asking. She looked around to make sure no one was watching before plopping down in the booth across from Peggy and leaning forward. She talked (well, more complained, really, but Peggy didn’t mind) about her day and particularly trying customers. She wasn’t really sure why, but she actually enjoyed listening to Angie’s little rants. Some stories of pushy men and the like made anger flare inside her because it wasn’t fair for anyone to be treated like that and because she liked Angie.

“So, what about you, English? How was your day?” she asked eventually.

“Alright. A bit boring. I certainly don’t miss the war, but I do miss the feeling of having a purpose.”

“What did you do during the war?”

“I fought. I fought alongside men and saved some of their lives. They still don’t treat me like an equal, though.”

“Men are pigs. Not sure I’ve met a woman who actually fought during the war, though. Nurses and factory girls, sure, but not soldiers.”

“There were more of us then you’d think.”

“Hmmm. Well, I better get back to work, or I’ll be fired and I’ll only have your tips and my skates. See ya at practice, English.” Peggy smiled, downed the remaining coffee, and left a large tip once again before leaving the automat.

*

It was the next morning that Peggy realized that she had no idea if the skates would fit her. Howard didn’t know her shoe size, unless he’d somehow managed to figure it out. She supposed that he could’ve fairly easily. After all, he could be very smart at times, not that she’d ever tell him that. No need to inflate his already massive ego. So Peggy put on the roller skates and tied the laces. She was infinitely grateful that, as promised, they did not explode. A man named Jarvis had dropped them off the previous day. Peggy noticed that they did, indeed, fit almost perfectly. She made a mental note to ask Howard how he knew what size her feet were. When she stood up, her feet slipped a little and she nearly fell before she found her footing. She was going to make a damn fool of herself that evening. She glanced at her watch and noted that she didn’t really have the time to be trying to balance in her skates. She sat down and kicked them off, beginning to prepare for the day. She found a large purse that she’d forgotten about and put the skates, along with anything else she may need, in it. She left her apartment, feeling somewhat anxious about the practice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I have to apologize again because some of you may have just waited two weeks for a chapter that is slightly just filler. I promise that there'll be actual roller derby stuff next chapter. Also, parts of this may seem out of character, but I've done what I can and I don't want you to have to wait any longer. Oh, and let me just explain stuff. In this, it's basically like Steve never got the serum and Captain America isn't a thing. For whatever reason, Howard was at the same base as them and they were attacked. Peggy saved him and some others but couldn't save Steve. So, she distances from Angie because she's kind of afraid of loss, and I mean it's the 40's, so that contributes, too. I just wasn't sure how clear that was. Please point out any mistakes that you notice. Like I said, I just wanted to get this up, so I haven't gone over it very thoroughly. Thank you so much!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here you go! Sorry for the long wait again; I've been really busy.

After a small amount of mental debate, Peggy made up her mind to go to the automat after work so that she and Angie could go to practice together again. Her heels clacked slightly on the sidewalk as she walked the short block to the automat. She pushed her way through the revolving door and made her way towards what was becoming her regular table. She sat down only a matter of seconds before Angie was walking towards her, bright smile on her face and mug of coffee in her hand. 

“Hey, English.”

“Hello, Angie.” The waitress casually dropped down into the empty seat across from Peggy. It was a bit of a routine by now. Peggy would come either in the morning   
or early evening, Angie would bring her coffee and sit and talk with her for as long as she could get away with. 

“Got your skates yet?”

“Yes, though I’m still quite an inexperienced skater.” Angie shrugged a little as response.

“You can’t be worse than my little brother. He came to a match once and afterwards said he could skate faster than me. He got skates and everything and came to one of our practices. He got on the track and maybe got a foot before falling off the edge. It’s not very high, but he twisted his ankle on the way down and walked with a limp for a few days.”

“That’s unfortunate for him. How’s your day been?” Angie rolled her eyes and shook her head, her smile disappearing.

“I dunno which are worse: the guys who come here or the guys who go to the derby. I guess I have to deal with them more here, but they may be a bit pushier there. Sorry I dragged you into this, English. They’ll be all over you.” Someone shouted something. It was similar to the interruptions they always encountered. A complaint, a sexist remark, a demand, and then Angie would give Peggy a weak smile and leave and get whatever the idiot asked for. “Fifteen minutes, Peg. That’s when my shift is over.”

“Alright. I’ll be here.”

“Thanks, English.” With that, she walked off. Peggy stood and walked towards the wall full of various foods. She opened a door and pulled out some type of pie as before returning to her seat. As she ate it and sipped at her coffee, she watched Angie work, occasionally glancing at the clock on the wall. Angie was quite good at her job. She was efficient and seemed to effectively convince most of her customers that she didn’t hate almost every second of it. Peggy imagined that she would make a good actress, if she wanted to. 

Those fifteen minutes passed fairly quickly. The Englishwoman had only just finished her coffee and pie when Angie walked back towards her table and informed her that Peggy was her last table and then they could go. Peggy, as always, gave a much larger than normal tip that made Angie just a bit suspicious about her job at the “telephone company.” A woman who connected calls probably didn’t have much money to waste.

“C’mon, English,” Angie said as they began to exit the L&L Automat and entered loud and crowded streets of New York City. They weaved their way through people effortlessly, both having lived there long enough to know how to. They had reached the subway in no time and were awaiting the correct train’s arrival. It didn’t take very long. The car they entered was fairly empty, a rare occasion, and they were both able to sit for this part of the journey to the skating rink.

*

When Peggy and Angie arrived, a man named Roger Dooley pulled her aside and had her sign a couple tracks to be on the team that he evidently owned. He found a way to make several sexist comments and insult during the minute or so it took her to read and fill out the necessary paperwork, and Peggy instantly hated him. He left immediately after and the Englishwoman joined the others in the small locker room. They gave her a uniform that didn’t have a nickname yet and she began to change into it. Eventually, all the other girls had left with the exception of Angie, who was standing by the door, waiting for her. 

Peggy stood and began to awkwardly move towards the other woman, not used to being on wheels. Once she was close enough, Angie held out her hand to help and smiled. Peggy gladly took it.

“Nice skates, English.”

“I’m going to make a right fool of myself.”

“Maybe, but it’ll be fun.”

“Oh, you’re so convincing.”

“I got you to join after one conversation,” Angie responded with a shrug. Peggy opened the door and skated out, letting go of the American’s hand as well. She was half-surprised that she didn’t just fall right then and there. They skated towards the track and Angie passed her quickly.

“So, how exactly am I supposed to do this?” Peggy asked. The jammer laughed a little before replying.

“You really haven’t done this much, have you?”

“No, I haven’t.”

“Okay, then, English. Spread your feet a bit. It may be unladylike, or somethin’, but it beats falling on that pretty face of yours.” Peggy did as she was told and did her best to ignore that last bit. “Now bend your knees a bit. Point your toes out and start to kinda walk.” Angie got onto the track where the rest of the team was already skating and the most recent addition joined her. She did exactly as the waitress instructed, her speed growing a bit with each stride. “Yeah, that’s good. Once you’ve got that, you can start to lift your feet for longer and make your stride wider.” Peggy nodded and took the advice, concentrating her balance. 

By the time practice was coming to an end, Peggy was skating just as fast as the other girls and had only fallen once. Once they were all off the track, Angie sped up and moved in front of Peggy before stopping, effectively causing the older woman to come to a halt as well. 

“Geez, English. If I hadn’t seen you early I’d have never guessed that you haven’t skated much. You’re a natural.”

“Thank you, Angie.”

“No, thank you. If you can shove people around half as well as you can skate, you’ll bring us to victory day after next.” And Peggy laughed a little at that, because she fought in the largest war of their time. She was pretty sure she could knock over girls wearing short skirts and tights. It took a minute for her to register the last part   
of what her friend had said.

“Wait, do we have a match?”

“Oh, yeah. I forgot to tell ya ‘bout that, didn’t I?”

“Yes, it would appear that you did.”

“Sorry, English. Um, well, ya know we’re a travel team, and this one is Chicago. Which is a long drive. We have to leave at around four in the morning, so you’d be missing work. And I understand if you can’t miss, I shoulda told you sooner…”

“It’s alright, Angie. I can call in sick. I never miss and I’m always on time. I’ll be fine.”

“You’d also have to miss the next day. We’re staying overnight. Dooley’s got some hotel booked for us. And a bus. We’ll meet here at four and it’ll take us to Chicago   
and then back in the morning.”

“I can arrange it. I’ll tell them it’s bad.”

“Are you sure, English?”

“Quite.”

“Thanks!” With that, both women skated towards the locker room to change and get on with their increasingly less separate lives.

*

Four was very early. Peggy was fairly used to an irregular sleep schedule, since she had served in the British Armed Forces and fought in many battles. But at this point, her sleep patterns were quite normal. So waking up at about three in the morning made her extremely tired and somewhat irritable. 

Even so, Peggy dragged herself out of bed and threw on some clothes before leaving for the rink. It was still dark outside and there were few people out to see the large dark circles around Peggy’s eyes as she went to the practically abandoned subway station. She had to wait for longer than usual for the correct train to come around. When it did, there was only one person in it and he looked quite thoroughly drunk. Peggy made sure to sit as far away from him as possible. He didn’t seem to notice her. At second glance, the woman considered that he could be unconscious. 

Peggy got off of the car and waited for the next one she needed. This one had a few more people than the last but none of them sat close or said a word. One got off before she did, but the rest were still on when she stepped out and began to walk the block or two. The bus was already there, its bright headlights glaring through the darkness. She was next to it soon and next to Angie as well. 

“Hey, English,” she muttered. The morning seemed to have a bit of a negative effect on her as well. She wordlessly handed a uniform to Peggy, who quickly shoved it in the small suitcase she had packed the evening before. “This is too early.”

“You aren’t a morning person, are you, Angie?”

The aforementioned fixed Peggy with a deathly glare. “No, I ain’t,” she responded, before adding, “Can ya blame me, English?” Peggy noticed that her New York accent was a bit stronger than usual, most likely due to a lack of sleep.

“No, I can’t. I’m not either.” It was then that Dottie walked up to them, all smiles as usual. 

“Hi, Peggy, Angie. Morning,” she greeted cheerily. Angie wanted to slap her. 

“Don’t remind me,” she groaned instead.

“Well, we oughta get on the bus. It’s almost four,” the blonde responded, her happiness not deflated one bit. The three of them boarded the bus, putting their things in the back and taking a seat. Angie sat across the aisle from Peggy and was quiet for a moment before sitting up straighter and getting up to get something from the back. When she got back, she handed Peggy a thermos full of coffee. The Englishwoman took a long swig as Angie sat down.

“Thank you, Angie. You’re a life saver.”

“No problem, English.”

“Would you like some of it?”

“Oh, no, I already drank a whole pot. I think I’ll be alright. But thanks, English.” Peggy just smiled at her and gulped down another sip of coffee. It was still hot enough that it almost burned her tongue and throat as it went down. Almost. The bus’s engine started three minutes to four and the driver put it into motion only seconds before four. Peggy did her best to keep her eyes open for whatever reason, but she fell asleep before they even left the city, a little more than half of her coffee still steaming in her thankfully closed thermos. 

And Angie went back to her bag to get a book as soon as it was light enough to read, even if she did have to squint to make out the small print in the faint light. She tried her hardest to focus on her book, she really did, but her eyes kept on betraying her and stealing glances at her sleeping teammate. And after looking at Peggy, she had to go back and read paragraphs over again to have any idea what was happening in the story. At some point, the bus driver stopped to fill up on gas and the sunrise was right behind Peggy and the light hit her face and if that wasn’t the prettiest sight Angie had ever had the honor of seeing, she’d be damned. But then the driver came back in and pulled away and Angie wanted to slap him for taking that away from her. She almost did, but the movement of the bus seemed to wake Peggy for a moment and she had looked over at Angie and smiled a little before falling back asleep and the American completely forgot that she was going to get up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kinda had other ideas for this chapter, but it didn't really happen that way. I'll try to go a bit more in depth with the roller derby part next chapter and I've got some more plans for future chapters. As always, thanks for reading and please leave any kind of feedback if you so desire.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize that my updates continue to take a while.

It was a few hours later when Peggy finally woke up with the directly in her eyes from the numerous windows on the bus. She squinted and blinked several times in an effort to speed up her adjustment to the harsh light. She quickly shoved the strands of hair that had fallen in her face as she slept behind her ears and pushed herself up from the half-fallen position she had woken up in. After sitting up a bit straighter and somewhat smoothing out the many wrinkles in her blouse and slacks, she rubbed at her eyes and bent her wrist to eliminate the glare that had been present on the glass surface before. It was 8:07, she noticed, before remembering the thermos of coffee that was somehow still in the seat. She unscrewed the lid and took a large swig, calling on the caffeine to wake her up. The beverage had gone slightly cold, but remained mostly warm thanks to the effects of the thermos. She had taken another couple of small sips before Angie seemed to notice that she was no longer asleep.

“Morning, English,” she greeted.

“Good morning, Angie. Thank you, again, for the coffee.”

“No problem. Figured we may do better with all of our skaters awake and based on the amount of coffee you drink at the automat, it’ll help with that,” Angie replied. It was completely true and it made Peggy smile.

“Still, you didn’t have to and it was very kind.” The younger woman shrugged as a response and the older woman noticed that she was holding a book in her hands, a finger marking a point about two thirds of the way through, she’d guess. It reminded Peggy that she’d brought along the newest Agatha Christie novel and she went towards the back of the bus to retrieve it. She had to dig through her things a bit to find what she was looking for, but it didn’t take very long. She walked slowly back to her seat and began her book, occasionally sipping her coffee as she turned a page.

*

At least an hour and a half, or half of Peggy’s book, had elapsed when Angie sighed dramatically, rose from her seat, and plopped back down right beside the other woman. “Hey, English. Whatcha readin’?”

“The Hollow. It’s the new Agatha Christie novel,” she answered, her eyes never leaving the page. It also happened to be the only book by Agatha Christie that Peggy hadn’t read yet, but there was no need to mention that.

“Oh. I read Murder on the Orient Express in school; I think that’s by her. I don’t really remember that much about it, though. It’s the one with the real cocky detective with a mustache, and in the end, they all had done it, right?”

“Yes, that’s the one,” Peggy confirmed.

“So is this one good?” Angie asked as Peggy turned the page. She murmured something about all of Christie’s books being good but still refused to look up. The jammer rolled her eyes and sighed heavily. “C’mon, English. Put down the book and talk to me. You’ve been reading for hours and so have I, and I finished my book.”

“Angie, this book is quite interesting. Maybe you could talk to one of the other girls.”

“Mary just broke up with her boyfriend and I don’t wanna hear her cry about it. Evelyn went out and got drunk last night and she really isn’t a fun person when she’s hungover. And Dottie is unnaturally cheerful all the time and it’s exhausting. So I’d rather not. Please,” she begged, a pleading look on her face. Peggy sighed and put her book down, resigning herself to the fact that Angie wasn’t going to let her read, at least for a while. She rolled her eyes before looking at the other woman’s and complying. They talked for hours about various things, books and coffee forgotten. 

At some point, someone pulled out a deck of cards and they all played poker. Dottie won three times, and Angie and Peggy each won once. Whoever’s cards they were took them back after a while and they all went back to their original seats. Peggy went back to reading and Angie went back to staring out of the window completely taken over by boredom. Her fingers tapped a soft beat on the cold glass and she pretended that she wasn’t still stealing frequent glances at Peggy. She’d always been good at pretending. It was something of a necessity for her.

*

By the time they bus pulled into the parking lot of the Chicago skating rink, Peggy’s coffee and book were both finished, Angie had fallen asleep a couple of times but never for very long, Evelyn’s hangover was gone, and Dottie was still smiling. It was unsettling. They all crowded in the back for a couple of minutes to get their uniforms and skates. As Peggy reached into her things, a thought occurred to her. 

“I’ve just realized that I don’t know what name is on my uniform,” she commented to Angie, but she said it more like a question. 

“Agent Carter,” came the response along with a smile. The Englishwoman raised an inquisitive eyebrow, to which the American just shrugged at first, before providing an actual response. “I dunno, I guess since you were in the military and have some mysterious friend who owes you and you obviously don’t work for the telephone company but that’s what you say, I could see you as some secret agent or something.”

“I do work for the telephone company,” she responded.

“Sure, English.”

“No, really, I do.”

“Yeah, you make a salary high enough to give me the tips you do at the telephone company,” she replied sarcastically.

“My parents were somewhat on the wealthy side.”

“Whatever you say. I get it. It’s confidential spy secrets.”

“Angie, I promise you, I work at the telephone company. You can go there sometime and check; it’s likely I’ll be there. My friend is someone I knew during the war. My parents left me a rather high amount of money after they died a few years ago and I figured I should spend it on people who deserve it.”

“Alright, I believe ya. But the name is staying.” Peggy rolled her eyes at the initial disbelief a little but still nodded as they walked towards the entrance of the building. “Nervous, English?”

“Not a bit.” She was hardly nervous as she fired her gun over and over at an approaching army. This was nothing.

*

The match started after they had all changed and practiced for a bit. Dottie went over fighting techniques with them for a couple minutes, reminding them of the most effective ways and places to hit. Peggy wondered how she knew and continued to doubt that she was actually a ballet dancer from some small town in Iowa. It was unlikely that she had learned how to fight that well by pirouetting through the prairie. 

A horn blew somewhere and suddenly they were all off. Angie was already in the lead, but one of Chicago’s blockers was just centimeters away from her and about to make a move. Peggy rushed forward to try to intervene, but Dottie was already there and effectively knocking the wind out of the opposing skater with a quick blow to the diaphragm. It was perhaps the first time the Englishwoman had seen her not grinning, and the look in its place was a bit terrifying. It was replaced with her trademark smirk again within seconds. The other jammer was in the front, too, at that point, about neck and neck with Angie, who bent further down and widened her strides as much as possible while still moving at the same pace to that she would move ahead. One of the Chicago girls, the same one from before, went to make a move on Angie again at the same time that Evelyn went for the Chicago jammer, Lethal Weapon. Peggy was fast enough to reach the persistent blocker (Speed Freak, she noticed, was the name, which she found to be rather unoriginal) less than a second before she got to the slightly younger girl and trip her, but unfortunately, that resulted in her falling as well. Lethal Weapon had elbowed Evelyn in the ribs, too, so both jammers were unharmed so far.

Similar routines followed for the next couple of laps, neither team ever very far ahead of the other at any point. Peggy figured that they needed to go more on the offensive than they had been. Angie could take care of herself, after all. After brief eye contact with Dottie, she skated full speed towards Lethal Weapon and knocked her over as her blonde teammate kept Speed Freak and one of the others away from them. Angie had added two laps to their score by the time they’d added one thanks to their tactics. Peggy had feared that she may grow tired after a while, but she hadn’t accounted for the amount of adrenaline came from the fight. She wasn’t even the least bit out of breath until a bit after the timer for the first half had gone off and her fatigue caught up with her a bit. Nonetheless, she got back on the track and her energy quickly returned. The second half passed much like the first, at least until the last minute or so, when both jammers began a sort of sprint on wheels in an effort to get as many points as possible. All of the blockers followed close behind trying to hurt the opposing team and protect their own, but jammers were chosen for their speed and none of them got quite close enough to make a difference. 

With two seconds left on the clock, Angie passed the starting line, adding a point to New York’s score, and stuck her foot out and positioned herself so that Lethal Weapon couldn’t get a point in the time remaining. Not that it really mattered, considering that they had already had a three point advantage. All of the skaters came to a halt and caught their breath before going to the locker room to change and leave.

*

The bus took them to the small hotel and they got checked in. Dooley had only gotten them one room to share, which the rest of the girls said was usual. He preferred to use his money on the men’s roller derby. He said it was more profitable.   
The room wasn’t anything special, just two twin sized beds and a cot. They all took turns in the small bathroom to prepare for sleep. Then they all went to their decided upon beds. Evelyn and Mary shared one of the beds, Dottie took the cot even though Peggy had offered, and Angie and Peggy shared the last bed. They both put as much distance between them as possible. Peggy feared she was already too close emotionally and didn’t need to be too close physically as well, and Angie couldn’t afford someone else finding out about her, especially the British skater. 

As Dottie turned off the last lit lamp, Angie smiled and announced, “Congratulations, girls. We’re a part of the final four now.” They all cheered a little bit at the victory before saying goodnights and attempting sleep. It didn’t come easily or for very long for Peggy or for Angie, as both were too anxious about straying from the edge of the bed and towards each other. The younger of the two cursed herself mentally for asking Peggy to join the team while the older cursed herself for accepting. Although both of them needed the sleep after the lack of it the day before, neither of them got much. Both of them were already wide awake when Dottie went to wake them up in the morning at six to get ready and get on the bus. Fortunately for most of them, they didn’t have to get up as early seeing as there was no set time they had to be in New York.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote like half of this last night and only edited and revised a little so I probably missed some stuff. My apologies. If you notice anything, feel free to point it out. Thank you.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I'm a piece of shit that took over a month to update. Thank you for continuing reading this.

The bus ride back to New York started out damn awkward for Angie. She had sat down in the same seat as she had the day before without even thinking about it and so had Peggy, so she was stuck trying to refrain from staring at this gorgeous woman who had kept her up all night, probably without even knowing that who she should’ve never run into or asked her to join her team and who should’ve never walked into her day job. Because Angie could act and she could pretend that she didn’t like girls but Peggy Carter made that way too difficult. And this time she didn’t have a book to distract herself with and the Englishwoman wasn’t asleep.   
She figured she should try to sleep some. She was exhausted and needed to stop looking at Peggy and she wasn’t sharing a bed with her anymore, so that would make it easier. But the sun was already up and it was lighting up the whole bus way too much and even when she shut her eyelids, she could see the light through them. So she curled up into an uncomfortable ball and draped her arm across her face and eyes and prayed to a god that she wasn’t sure existed that she could fall asleep and that she could get over her dumb feelings for Peggy.

She had no idea that just across the aisle, said woman was glancing across at her and having some similar thoughts. Only she wasn’t praying to any gods. She was cursing herself for approaching too close. Toeing the line, really. Just walking along the line and occasionally stumbling to one side or the other. And, of course, yawning frequently because she’d maybe gotten almost an hour in sleep in short little periods. Her eyelids drooped lazily as she gazed at Angie. At some point they closed and then she stopped hearing and feeling the bus speeding across the Midwest and back into the east. She really had no idea when.

*

Angie was woken hours later when the sky was dark but the lights were bright. She knew in an instant that they had arrived back in New York. Peggy stood by her seat, her curled brown hair falling in her face a bit. The smile that overtook her lovely features when Angie blinked and sat up was still clear as day, though.

“The other girls have already left, but I wasn’t about to just leave you here,” she explained, tucking the loose hair behind her ear. “I hope I didn’t keep you up last night,” she half joked. Angie had to remind herself that she should laugh. She hoped the sound didn’t seem too forced.

“Oh, no, it-it’s nothing like that. I’m just tired. You’re fine,” she stammered a little. She was usually good with words and talking and all that but she was tired and more than a little distracted. “You can go, if you want, I just need to get my stuff.”

“It’s late and it’s dark. I’m not leaving you alone.” It was sweet and protective and not inherently romantic but it could be taken that way and that scared both of them.

“Thanks, English.” If she was being completely honest with herself, she was less scared by the romantic quality and more hopeful. Peggy was the one who had said it after all, not her. She quickly gathered her things and followed closely behind the British woman off the bus. She half-heartedly thanked the driver as she stepped onto the pavement, her heels making a soft clacking sound and the woman in front of her smiling a little. 

The glow of the 24 hour lights of New York City illuminated their faces as they walked beside each other in silence towards the subway. Angie pushed stray hairs behind her ears and covered a long yawn with her hand. “Thanks again, Peg.”

“For what?” she asked softly.

“For joining our team. For coming yesterday. For waiting. For everything, really.”

“It was all my pleasure, darling.” She wanted to slap herself for that. Her cheeks became slightly pink and she was infinitely grateful for the fact that the block they were on being poorly lit. She turned away from the waitress anyways and crossed her arms across her chest without really thinking about it. She didn’t even notice the widening of Angie’s eyes or that she was suddenly picking at her nails. They fell back into silence as they entered the subway station and made their way to the train that both of them had to take. Surprisingly, it was already there. When it came time for them to get off and go their separate ways, they finally spoke again.

“We don’t have practice tomorrow, but we do the next day,” Angie informed her. Peggy nodded.

“Alright. Goodnight. Be careful.”

“You too, English,” she responded with a smile and she began to turn around when she stopped and added, “I’ll save you a coffee and a seat tomorrow.”

“I’ll be there.”

“Good.”

*

Peggy went to the diner at lunchtime. She wasn’t even fully inside when Angie had placed a coffee and a piece of pie at her usual spot. She was smiling like she always did when Peggy walked in. Like unspeakable things could’ve happened but she didn’t really care because everything just got a little bit better. It always made the Englishwoman blush ever so slightly, but if questioned, she’d deny it like her life depended on it. She crossed the room quickly and sat down as Angie asked, “Can I get anything else for ya?”

“No, thank you,” she replied. She really wasn’t very hungry.

“Sure?” the American asked, sounding a little concerned. 

“Yes, I’m fine, Angie.”

“’Kay, but let me know if you need anything.”

“Of course. Thank you.” The waitress walked around, serving the other few customers before returning to Peggy’s secluded booth and sitting down. 

“So, how much makeup did you have to wear to cover the bruises?” she asked quietly but casually.

“How did you know I’d have bruises?”

“I been doing this long enough to know which hits’ll leave a mark and which weren’t. You had some that would. Couldn’t see ‘em very well last night in the dark, but I knew that they had to be there.”

“Not too much. There was nothing too bad. I’ve had worse.”

“I’m sure, soldier girl. Ever gotten shot?” Peggy was quiet for a bit too long and seemed to have started a staring contest with her coffee. 

“Yes, I have, actually. It was quite unpleasant.”

“Oh, geez, Peg, that’s awful. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean- I didn’t think that you would’ve. I assumed they wouldn’t let a woman out on the frontlines. Sorry.”

“It’s fine, Angie. I have to get back to work soon, though. I’ll see you tomorrow,” she responded, still sounding a little sad and a little regretful. She placed some money on the table, and as usual, it more than covered the food and a normal tip. Angie shook her head at her a little.

“Bye.”

*

Peggy walked in the diner the next morning only a few minutes before she had to be at work. She hadn’t been planning on coming until evening so they could go to practice together, but she wanted coffee better than the weak, flavorless excuse of the beverage they often had at the telephone company. Angie spotted her immediately and started towards the secluded booth but she stopped when the slightly taller woman walked towards the counter instead. She followed and went behind the bar.

“Can I just get a coffee, Angie? I really can’t stay or I’ll be late for work,” she explained quickly.

“Yeah, sure. Ya know what, take the mug and you can bring it back later. I don’t want you to be late,” Angie responded, filling the cup.

“Oh, no, you could get in trouble,” she replied, shaking her head at the suggestion.

“Come on, Peg, mugs go missing all the time. It’s alright, just go.”

“I haven’t even paid yet.”

“It’s on the house. You’re supposed to be at work in about a minute, right?”

“Well, yes, but-“

“Go,” Angie interrupted, gesturing for the older woman to leave, “See ya here later?”

“Yes, with the mug and the money,” Peggy called over her shoulder as she left.

“If you insist, English.” 

*

“Here’s the mug,” Peggy greeted when Angie finally got the chance to get to her booth that evening. The automat was more crowded than usual and she’d had to tend to several needy customers first.

“Sorry about the wait, English,” she said, gracefully half-dropping half-sliding into the empty seat while filling the cheap ceramic mug at the same time. She put the pot of coffee on the table off to the side and watched at Peggy blew steam off the surface of her drink before taking a small sip.

“It’s not a problem at all. Thank you for this morning, and here’s the money,” she replied, starting to reach into her bag before Angie stopped her by gently grabbing her wrist.

“Hey, no, I covered it. You’re my best customer, and I figured it’s about time I bought you a drink,” she joked with a smirk and faint blush and Peggy choked a little on her coffee. She didn’t say anything for a minute, focusing on swallowing and wiping up the little drops of coffee that she’d spat out. “It was just a joke, English. Sorry.”

“It’s alright, there’s nothing to apologize for. I just wasn’t expecting that.”

“’Kay, well I gotta serve a couple more people and clean some of these tables up, but then we can go.” Peggy nodded in acknowledgement rather than actually responding as Angie stood and picked up the pot of coffee, refilling the slightly older woman’s mug before walking away to serve the many other customers. She returned approximately fifteen minutes later right as Peggy finished the last little sip of her coffee and fetched a few bills from her purse to pay. The waitress rolled her eyes at the unusually large tip that was actually quite usual for her teammate. It made her feel a little bad but she pocketed the money nonetheless as Peggy stood gracefully as always.

*

Practice that evening was rather uneventful aside from the fact that it ran about twice as long as usual. They usually all did about 250 laps around the track, trying to see who was fastest, despite the fact the Angie won every time with Dottie on her heels. Peggy hadn’t been to many practices, but she had been informed of this pattern. With this routine, they always finished in about an hour. However, wanting to win the championship, they upped it to 450 laps, resulting in eventually much slower laps due to exhaustion and adding another hour.

But Angie did have a rather eventful conversation as she finished changing, only Dottie left in locker room. Peggy was waiting for her just outside, chivalrous as always and having finished a few minutes prior. 

“So, you and Peggy,” the blonde started casually, her smirk a little more smug than usual.

“What about us?”

“You’re, well you know, going steady, right?”

“What?” Angie exclaimed nervously as a response.

“Look, I’m not blind. Just thought I’d tell you to be careful. An awful lot of people would do some really bad things if they found out.”

“Yeah, I get that, but me and Peggy, I mean, we aren’t…”

“You aren’t?” The dancer’s smile actually faltered. Angie wasn’t sure that had ever happened before. She couldn't recall any such event and she found it somewhat amusing that this is what it took. Being wrong about her friends dating. Or rather, she would find it amusing if she wasn't terrified about being found out.

“Nope.”

“You… fancy her though, right?”

“No!”

“If you say so,” she responded as she walked out the door, smug grin back full force. Angie followed her out, ignoring the discrete wink from the blonde as she walked towards Peggy.

“What’s she so happy about?” she Englishwoman asked as they left together.

“Nothing, it’s just Dottie. She’s always eerily happy.” The taller woman seemed satisfied by that response and left it alone. Angie thanked every deity she could think of for that.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait. Also, this thing is probably full of historical incorrectness and me not knowing much about the derby. My numbers are probably pretty off, but I tried. Also, hopefully Chapter 7 will be up before August 3rd, but I won't make promises because I'm super busy. 99% it won't be up before June 24th. Oh, and you see that 6/9? It's gonna be 8 chapters and an epilouge

The semi-finals were that night. The boys’ team had had them the day prior in Florida and had lost, making it their last game of the season which secretly made Peggy very happy. She knew she should support her city, but it was hard considering the one encounter she’d had with some of the team members. They had come by the automat once when she was there. There was Jack Thompson, who was simply a sexist, bigoted, egotistical arse who objectified every woman he saw immediately and without hesitation or regret. There was Krezmenski, whose first name she didn’t know and was just as bad as Jack but also openly complained about his numerous girlfriends as well as his wife. Daniel Sousa wasn’t as bad and seemed like an actual decent human being, but didn’t often speak up against the other two. Peggy had left with Angie when she clocked out, right as Roger Dooley, the team manager of both New York teams, came in and joined the boys, not even recognizing either of the female players.

But that wasn’t important. The semi-finals were, and Peggy would be lying if she said she wasn’t nervous. Thankfully, this match was in New York so there was no seemingly endless drive and no shared hotel room that confused things far too much. Angie and she arrived together after Peggy downed three cups of coffee in fifteen minutes at the automat. She’d also eaten a sandwich, at the waitress’s insistence that she shouldn’t skate on an empty stomach if they wanted to win. And they did. They were a little early, but Dottie was already there and changed. She winked at Angie who glared back but blushed a little all the same. Peggy didn’t understand this encounter, and figured there was something more to their conversation than Angie had previously let on. She decided to question the jammer later, because now really wasn’t the time.

The two of them changed in silence, both very purposely turned away from the other until it was just a matter of tying the laces on the skates. Peggy finished up a little bit before, but waited for her friend. She always seemed to wait for her, Angie had noticed. She stood up and skated towards the locker room door and opening it.

“After you,” she insisted, gesturing for the taller woman to walk, or skate rather, through the door way.

“How very chivalrous of you, Ms. Martinelli,” the Englishwoman teased as she did as she was told. The aforementioned rolled her eyes at the comment.

“Oh yes, I’m quite the gentleman, English.” Peggy let out an undignified snort. “What, are you doubting me?” the American asked. 

“Oh, I wouldn’t dream of it, Angie.”

“Good.” Evelyn and Mary went inside the locker room quickly as the other team, from Las Angeles, arrived and spectators began to file in and create a rapidly growing crowd.

“Ready, Angie?” Peggy asked right before they moved into their starting positions.

“I thought you’d never doubt me.”

“I don’t, darling. Now get us some points.”

“Anything for you, English,” Angie called back as the first whistle blew and the blockers took off. The second whistle sounded and Angie and the other jammer took off. Ace, Angie noticed was her name. Unfortunately, she was slightly ahead of her. Peggy glanced over her shoulder and noted that fact, moving to the right at the last second to block her and open a window up for Angie. The slightly shorter woman burst ahead, taking that opportunity.  
It took a few seconds for Ace to get past Peggy and an additional few to get through the rest of the pack. Angie was nearing them and the New York team did their best to clear a path, but one of L.A.’s blockers slammed into her, causing her to nearly fall off the track, but regaining her footing at the last second. She shot past the rest of the pack, making the score 4-0 and seeing that there were 32 seconds left in the jam. She sped around the track as Ace made it through the pack, despite the best efforts of the New York team. Angie managed to get through another time before the buzzer went off and the opposing team gained three points, having not managed to pass Dottie, who was extremely satisfied by that. 

The quarter went by with few penalties and minimal incident, ending with a score of 67-62, with New York in the lead, but all of the ten skaters knew how quickly that could be changed. They took a short break and Angie, panting, skated towards Peggy. 

“Told you not to doubt me.”

“How many times must I assure you that I didn’t and wouldn’t?” Angie shrugged and smirked a little. The vast majority of the crowd was cheering loudly for New York, which really wasn’t surprising considering the distance one would have to travel from southern California. 

All of the skaters gradually migrated back to the track to begin the second quarter. Which didn’t exactly get off to the best of starts. It took all of three jams for L.A. to gain the lead, though it was only by two points. Six jams later, L.A. had a wider margin. 77-94 was the score and New York was none too happy about it. When Ace was about to score her seventh point of the jam, Dottie blew a fuse, quite spectacularly. She punched the woman directly in the face and a stream of blood came gushing out. It was a penalty, but it did give Angie an opportunity to get closer to an even score. 

“Cock-eyed bitch,” Ace exclaimed under her breath at Dottie who was skating towards the penalty box, smile wider than ever. She shrugged back.

“Please, you’re fine. I didn’t even break it.” The first whistle cut off any response the jammer would’ve fired back. Even a team member short, though, Angie was able to gain nine points while Ace only got seven. L.A. still had a nine point lead though. Which they eradicated by the end of the quarter. It ended at 119-118, New York in the lead.

Angie skated up to Peggy and let out a shaky breath. “Damn,” she muttered, “She’s good.”

“You’re better,” Peggy reassured her.

“Aw, you flatter me, English.” 

“I speak the truth. Look at the score, darling.”

“Yeah, one point ain’t a lot,” Angie responded bitterly.

“Well, I never said you were exponentially better and that they have no chance of beating us,” the blocker clarified.

“Gee, you sure know how to give a compliment,” the shorter woman responded, sarcasm heavily lacing each of her words.

“Thank you, I’ve been told it’s one of my greatest qualities,” Peggy shot back, matching Angie’s tone.

“Hmm, I woulda said your legs. Maybe your politeness, but not your compliments. Sorry, English.”

“Was that a compliment or an insult?”

“Yes.” With that, Angie left a confused blocker and skated to her starting line to begin the third quarter. Peggy shook her head, went to her line, and awaited the whistle.

It didn’t take long for New York to greatly widen that one point margin. It seemed that the worse L.A., the more frustrated they got and they took out their anger very physically, resulting in several penalties. Somewhat unfortunately, Peggy and Dottie had a slight tendency to fight back, especially Dottie. At some point, a skater elbowed the Angie in the ribs and tried to trip her, but Peggy socked her in the jaw. Hard. They both got penalties. The next jam, Angie whispered, “You got a mean right hook, English,” as she passed her. She got a proud grin and a quiet expression of thanks as a response. At the end of the third quarter, the score was 199-184, New York a bit more comfortably in the lead.

During the last quarter, Peggy swore she heard someone cheering for her. It wouldn’t have been that odd; she was doing well along with the rest of New York, but they were calling her first name. No one who knew her first name knew that she was doing roller derby other than her teammates. And that voice definitely sounded familiar, even over the screams of the crowd. She couldn’t focus on it though, because L.A. was gaining on them. It was a few jams later when she was finally able to place it. Howard Stark. She rolled her eyes but didn’t bother to search for him in the crowds.

New York won 263-252, causing quite the cacophony from the countless spectators. When Peggy walked out of the locker room to the spot where she always waited for Angie, she saw a man that she recognized as Howard’s butler, Jarvis, holding a bouquet of flowers and obviously waiting for someone.

“Ah, Ms. Carter, congratulations on the win. Mr. Stark wanted me to give these to you. He was here before, but he had a meeting to get to and had to leave early,” he explained, walking over to her as soon as he noticed her.

“Thank you, Jarvis, but you don’t have to lie for him. I know he’s still here, probably just outside but he’s afraid I’ll hit him. Tell him I said that the flowers are lovely but I would hate to be confused as one of the innumerable women that he takes home.”

“Really, Ms. Carter, he told me not to leave until you took them.”

“How rude of him. Inconveniencing you for his ridiculous games. Alright, fine, I’ll take them. Tell him he’s an arse.”

“Yes, well, have a good night.”

“You too, Jarvis.” Peggy glared at the flowers as he walked away, before remembering something, and shouting, “Oh, and ask him how the bloody hell did he get my shoe size!”

Angie walked up to her seemingly out of nowhere. “Who’s your friend, English?” she spat out bitterly, making the word friend sound like the harshest swear to ever pass over someone’s mouth.

“I’m not sure I’d say friend,” Peggy replied. The Italian scoffed.

“Well, I figured, based on those flowers.” The older woman’s eyes widened and her cheeks became a little red.

“No! Not like that, Angie! I’ve only met him once before. He works for someone I knew in the war.”

“The guy shoulda given you the flowers himself.” She had to stop herself from saying, “That’s what I would do if I was with you.”

Peggy didn’t seem to understand exactly what Angie meant by that, and responded, “I think he’s afraid I’ll hurt him.”

“Why? What’d he do?” Angie interrogated.

“Nothing, he’s just an overconfident arse,” Peggy sighed.

“Then why are you… with him?”

“What?” If Peggy had had anything in her mouth at that moment, she swore she would’ve spat it out. “I’m not with Howard! I can’t even imagine- oh god why does he do these things? I knew someone would think that, but I hoped I was wrong. Bloody Nora! Angie, please believe me when I say that I would rather be tortured and killed than go with Howard.”

“Alright, then, I get it. You aren’t with Howard,” the waitress stated, somewhat defensively. Peggy sighed, relieved. They exited the building silently and were halfway to the subway station before either spoke. 

“So, uh, I was thinking, do you wanna come over to my apartment to celebrate? I’ve got some Schnapps and rhubarb pie from the diner. My landlady has a no alcohol policy, but she usually doesn’t notice it. Really her only rule that you can’t get around is no men above the first floor and now I’m just rambling…” she trailed off awkwardly, looking down at her shoes. 

“Oh, I’d love to-“ Angie looked up hopefully, “-but I really shouldn’t. I’ve got work early tomorrow.” Peggy had the grace to offer an apologetic smile. She knew it was a weak excuse, but it was the best she had. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to spend time with Angie; it was that she really, really did. And that scared her. And it meant that she absolutely could not because she was already in too deep and she needed more distance. But the younger girl’s face had fallen as soon as she had continued to talk.

“Yeah, alright,” she dismissed sadly and a little annoyed, though with who, Peggy wasn’t sure.

“Angie, wait,” Peggy began, only to be cut off.

“No, I get it. I know a brush-off when I see one.”

“Angie, that’s not… I just…” the taller of the two sighed. She felt a need to explain herself but wasn’t really sure of how to without ruining everything. 

“Just what, English?” Peggy didn’t say anything. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

“Angie?”

“What?” she snapped.

“Uh, the subway,” Peggy answered gesturing sheepishly at the sign they’d just passed.

“Right.” The two women walked down without uttering a word to or daring to look at the other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow okay I didn't separate that at all, did I? It's a roller derby au and I've barely said a thing about the derby so that's the point of this chapter. Well, that and I wanted to create some tension. They've got some in the show, so yeah. I wanted to do a little with Howard and Jarvis talking at the end, but I couldn't get it to sound right, so sorry. As always, you can comment about whatever and thank you so much for reading!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Steve is addressed and Schnapps and pie are consumed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy okay well this is going to be pretty long. By "this" i mean these notes, not this chapter. It's my standard approximately 2000 words, but that's irrelevant. I want to just say thank you to anyone who read this back in the day when I began and who has stuck with it. I know it's not the best fic, but it takes effort and planning and research to write and it's important to me considering it's the first fic I ever published on here. Anyways, the point is thank you and I'm sorry. It's been.. let's see, it's been more than five months since I last updated, which is definitely not something I planned on. I had kind of hoped I'd finish by the end of August, but that clearly didn't happen. If this fic has taught me anything beyond obscure facts about 1940's roller derby and more about roller derby in general, it's that updating regularly is really difficult when you have other things going on it your life, or even when you don't really. So fellow authors, take your time. I know I have. So, I now present to you chapter seven of nine (*winks at voyager fans*)

Peggy yawned and squinted as soon as she opened her eyes and was hit by the harsh light of the sun streaming through the mostly closed blinds in her windows. She groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose slightly as she slowly widened her eyes. She rolled over to look at the clock, noting that it was 9:17, much later than she normally slept. Peggy stayed there motionless for several minutes, painfully aware of the date and what had happened exactly one year before. It was not a good day. She let out a resigned sigh, tossed the blankets carelessly to the side, and walked to the telephone in her room. It was a nice apartment, otherwise she probably would’ve had to use a phone shared by the hall. A cheery voice asked her who she wanted to be connected to.

“Here, actually. It’s Peggy. I’m terribly ill, I’m afraid. I’ve got a fever and I’ve already thrown up twice this morning. I’m afraid I won’t be able to make it in today,” she lied, doing her best to sound equally apologetic and miserable.

“Oh, gosh, Peggy, alright. Get some rest; we’ll find someone to cover for you.”

“Thank you. Goodbye.” She placed the phone back on the receiver and took the step or two necessary to get to her sink. Peggy filled a small kettle with water, lit her stove, and set the kettle on it to boil. 

She wiped at her eyes before pressing the palms her hands into the counter and hunching over in a seemingly uncomfortable position, her shoulder blades sticking out. She closed her eyes and waited, not moving until she heard the whistling of boiling water and stood back up, grabbing a mug from a cabinet horizontally above the stove. She tossed a tea bag into the mug absentmindedly, not even checking the flavor, before pouring the water in and turning off the stove.

Peggy then returned to the comfort and warmth of her bed, setting her brewing tea next to her on a nightstand. She sat there for a while, just staring at the steam rising from the cup and thinking about him until the steam dissipated and stopped. It was then she remembered that she should remove the teabag, and did so, placing in on the saucer she’d also gotten out. She tentatively took a sip, wrinkling her nose when it reached her mouth, bitter and cold. That was also close to how she felt at that moment. 

She gave up on forcing herself to drink the tea anyways and dumped it in the sink before laying down again. At some point her thoughts drifted from Steve and her loss to Angie and roller derby. She smiled for the first time that day and stood up, deciding to go to the diner and figure out if they had practice. After all, they were close to championships.  
It didn’t take terribly long for Peggy to get dressed, but it did take a bit longer than usual. She decided against mascara, figuring it would only get smudged or run down her cheeks when she inevitably starting crying, but did put on her signature red lipstick before leaving the apartment and hitting the streets of New York. She was almost all the way to the automat before she remembered that she and Angie had argued the night before. She decided to continue on anyways.

*

Angie was somewhat surprised when Peggy walked into the L&L, all things considered. She smiled at her just as brightly as usual, though, but it was a bit more apologetic, and Peggy’s timid expression changed to a somewhat happier, reassured one. Angie’s smile only faltered when she noticed that Peggy appeared to be close to tears as she strode over to the counter-top and sat down on a stool. Angie had already grabbed the pot of coffee and begun to pour some in a mug when Peggy interrupted her with a soft, “Tea today, please, if it isn’t any trouble.”

“Of course, English. What type?”

“I don’t really care.” Angie nodded and poured hot water in a different cup, dropping a tea bag in a second later. 

“It’s English Breakfast, ya know, ‘cause you’re English. Um, I just wanna say sorry for last night. I shouldn’ta pushed, and I overreacted.”

“It’s alright, dear. I’m sorry, too. Thank you for the tea.”

“Sure. I mean it’s kinda my job,” she joked, before adding seriously, “You okay? Just a rough day at work, or...” she trailed off, searching Peggy’s expression for some kind of answer. Peggy smiled back at her, but it was a sad smile.

“No, it’s not that. I... I’m fine, thank you, Angie.”

“No problem. If you need anything, just ask. I’m right here. I’m working all day today.” Someone hailed her over, more politely than usual. “Speaking of,” she said as she left her spot behind the counter to the customer’s booth. She returned briefly after a moment, leaving again with a pot of coffee, a mug, and a plate of eggs. When she returned again, she stayed for longer, silently watching as Peggy sipped at her tea with her thoughts clearly elsewhere. 

“Can I get you anything else, Peggy?” she asked sometime later, but she was met with radio silence. “Peggy?” she repeated, a little louder.

Peggy then looked up, somewhat surprised by the interruption of her musings, taking in a deep breath. “I’m sorry. What did you say?”

“I asked if you wanted anything else.”

“Oh. No, thanks.” Peggy resumed staring at her empty cup for a moment. “Do we have practice tonight?” she asked, not looking up.

“No. You sure you’re alright?” Angie asked again, concern clearly etched into her face.

“Yes. It’s just today... it’s not a great day for me, really,” she responded, smiling again in a way that made Angie want to cry and hug her at the same time.

“Do you wanna talk about it?”

“Not really. Not now, anyways.” Angie wordlessly made her another cup of tea before making her rounds with the few other customers.

*

When Peggy had been in the automat for nearly an hour, Angie asked, “Don’t you have to go back to work?”

“Took a sick day.”

“That bad, huh?” Angie half joked.

“Afraid so.”

Peggy stayed there for a few hours, not really talking beyond thanking Angie for the constant refills of tea and saying that yes, she was sure she didn’t need anything else. And of   
course over this entire period of time, Angie was looking at Peggy with unadulterated worry, even as she served other customers. 

When Angie went back to the kitchen for an order, one of the chefs asked, “Hey, whadya do to get your girlfriend so down, Ang?”

“She’s not my girlfriend, and she won’t tell me why she’s upset.”

*

“Are you sure there’s nothing I can do for you?” Angie asked genuinely. Peggy glanced at her contemplatively at her for a moment, biting her lower lip.

“Do you still have that Schnapps?” she finally asked, smiling almost happily. Angie smiled too, most of the worry gone from her face at the moment.

“Yeah. And most of the pie.” Peggy’s smile widened ever so slightly, but there were still the hints of tears in her eyes that had been there all day. “I’ll clock out early.”

“Oh, you don’t have to do that. I don’t mind waiting.”

“It’s fine, really. I covered for one of the other waitresses a few days ago. I’ll just get her to return the favor.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course.”

*

“Angela, you’re nearly late for curfew. Again,” Ms. Fry said, completely ignoring Peggy as the two entered the Griffith.

“I know. Won’t happen again, Ms. Fry.”

“See to it that it doesn’t. Who’s your... friend?” she asked, finally looking at Peggy.

“Peggy. Uh, her husband beat her and she didn’t have anywhere else to go, so I picked her up and told her she could stay the night here with me,” Angie lied seamlessly.

“Oh. Yes, of course.”

“Thank you, Ms. Fry,” Angie said smiling as she guided Peggy to the stairs and began to climb them.

“Nice job, back there. I almost believed it,” Peggy said.

“Thanks.” Angie beamed back at her and continued up the steps to her room on the third floor.

*

Angie grabbed the bottle of Schnapps from a drawer, setting it down beside Peggy on the bed before getting two glasses, two forks, and the pie. She kicked off her shoes and   
plopped down on her bed, the Schnapps between herself and Peggy. She shuffled a little and tucked her feet up under herself. Then she opened the bottle and poured a bit into both glasses, handing one to Peggy, who drank it all in one gulp.

“Wanna tell me about it now?” Angie asked as she refilled the glass.

Peggy sighed. “A year ago today, a dear friend of mine died. And I still haven’t quite gotten over it.”

“Oh. That’s... I’m real sorry.” Angie took a sip of her own drink and stabbed her fork in the pie which was now on her lap.

“It’s alright. Don’t apologize. Nearly everyone lost someone in the war. I just miss him, is all, and it hurts a little more today.”

Angie nodded and watched Peggy slowly take a long sip. She debated asking for a bit, but eventually decided to do it. “Were you two together?”

Peggy smiled bittersweetly. “No, not quite. But we were close. We were going to go dancing when he got back, but instead, his plane crashed and he died.”

“God, that’s awful.”

Peggy nodded. “They never... they never found his body.” Angie stayed quiet, but moved the pie a bit closer to her. Peggy noticed and picked up a fork to take a bite. “He was sweet. And he respected me, which was rare, since I’m a woman. I’ve moved on, for the most part, I just wish that we’d gotten our chance. And I miss him.”

“I’m sorry. You said not to apologize, but I am.” Peggy smiled and poured another glass of Schnapps for herself.

“I’m afraid I may drink a lot of this, so I’ll apologize in advance for getting drunk and for stealing your alcohol.” Angie laughed and poured herself a second glass.

“I wouldn’ta offered if I wasn’t okay with it.”

“Still,” Peggy muttered, barely audible. They sat in comfortable silence for a while until Peggy finally let some of the tears she’d been holding in all day fall. “I’m sorry.”

“Oh, English, it’s really alright. You lost someone that you loved or at least cared about. My brother died a few years ago in the war and I cried for a week. He was a bit of an ass, but if I ever said that to my mom she’d kill me for speaking ill of the dead and all that.”

“I lost lots of good men. Lots of people I cared about. I don’t know why Steve’s death hit me so hard, why it still affects me this much.”

“It’s fine, Peggy. Now, do you wanna get really drunk and eat a whole pie?”

Peggy laughed lightly, wiping the tears from her eyes and looking at Angie with pure affection. “I’d love nothing more, darling.”

“Good. I’d hate to do it alone.” Angie lifted her glass it the air in a toast. “To... missed opportunities,” she said, almost laughing at the irony, knowing that she would likely miss her own opportunity with Peggy.

“To missed opportunities,” Peggy echoed, lifting her own glass and lightly clinking it against Angie’s, before finishing it off as Angie did the same. At some point the unspokenly agreed that they’d both had more than enough alcohol for the time being and instead focused on finishing off the pie, as they’d said they would.

Angie woke up with a headache, significantly less Schnapps than she’d had before, very little sleep, and an empty pie pan at her feet, but she didn’t really give a damn about any of that because she also woke up in Peggy’s strong arms and next to Peggy’s breathtaking face. And Angie was pretty sure- no, she was positive- that that feeling could easily make up for any number of things. Definitely a hangover, a dirty dish, a bad night’s sleep, and a bit less booze.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! This chapter was kinda difficult because I'm bad at this kind of shit. Also, I've never seen Captain America. I know, I'm awful. I'll watch it for Peggy at some point. Hopefully the last two chapters won't feature five month breaks again! I'm on break now, so it's possible, but I do have other stuff to do, and I'm bad with that whole inspiration for what I want inspiration for thing. And I kinda just wanna binge watch stuff. Oh, and happy holidays if you celebrate any! As always, feel free to point out any flaws, errors, etc.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Championship match. Gayness ensues...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes this is real not a dream I actually updated in two and a half days instead of five months. anyways, since this is basically the conclusion and i had a lot to do in it (chapter 9 is an epilogue) it's about 1000 words longer than my other chapters

Nothing much really changed between Peggy and Angie after that night, just a few more hardly subtle looks and smiles that had already been fairly common for them, even if they both did their best to not acknowledge them. 

The championship was fast approaching, too. There was a week between this one and the championship, which conveniently also located in New York City. And every night excluding the first one was spent tirelessly practicing on the track. They all were trying to cut their lap time by as long as possible, a couple seconds at least. They also discussed and practiced legal ways of slowing or stopping opposing skaters. Dottie rolled her eyes when Angie explained why punching players wasn’t a good idea while pointedly staring at her. Peggy stifled a laugh and went back to doing her laps. 

They did a few scrimmages with two players versus three, Angie and Dottie as team captains and jammers. One evening they’d even gotten the guys from the men’s team to play against them. They’d refused at first, saying they wouldn’t want to hurt the girls, and that it wasn’t really a fair match. In the end, the girls won by a long shot, and Thompson insisted it was because he told his boys to go easy on them. Sousa had later ensured Peggy that that was a lie.

Though technically their practices started at five thirty and ended around nine, everyone was there by five and no one left until ten thirty at the earliest, just trying to get their laps shorter, or trying to be better at blocking, or better at getting Angie through, or Angie being better at getting through even with people blocking her. They were all equally nervous and excited. Scared and hopeful. 

“We’re going to win this, ladies. I could say that even if we don’t, it’s been a great season, and there’s always next year, and we’ve come together to be great friends, but I don’t have to, even though I kinda just did, because we are going to come here tomorrow night at five and we are going to face them on the track at seven, and we are going to win, okay? We’re gonna win,” Angie said at the end of their last practice before game day. Everyone nodded and smiled and hoped she was right.

*

It was close to seven when the other team- from Detroit- arrived and headed to the locker rooms to get dressed. Peggy looked out at the growing crowd of fans and quickly spotted Howard, immediately glaring at him. He grinned in response and gave her a thumbs up, prompting her to roll her eyes and skate off the track to take a short break before the match began. 

All of the girls from the Detroit team emerged from the locker room together, and a larger portion than Peggy had been expecting started cheering loudly. Usually the visiting team barely got any cheers, but she supposed it was different, considering it was the championship match. Peggy glanced at Angie, who was only just finishing with her countless warm up laps. Angie grinned and nodded towards the starting line before skating there, Peggy moving to the same destination. 

All of the blockers from both teams gathered at the line, each fighting to get as close to the front as they could. The announcer spoke for a bit, getting the crowd excited, explaining that this was the championship, going over the rules, and finally listing the players. Peggy didn’t really pay much attention, too anxious for the match that was about to commence. 

The first sound from the announcer that had her full, undivided attention was the nearly deafening blow of a whistle that had her and the other blockers skating away, already strategizing the best ways to get their teammate through while still blocking the opposing jammer. Dottie made a gesture they’d come up with in practice and Evelyn, Mary, and her all immediately started to shove a pathway for Angie as the second whistle blew, while Peggy stayed back to make sure the other jammer couldn’t use the path for herself. 

Angie sped up and alerted Peggy to her presence, slipping past her with ease and then through the empty area of the track. However, Detroit’s jammer was right on her heels, so the New York team quickly cut off their escape route before spreading out to minimize the opportunity of her getting through. She did, eventually, but only after Angie had gotten a point and was working on her second. This maneuver worked remarkably well for the first few jams, getting and keeping New York in the lead, much to the dismay of Detroit.   
But it didn’t take long for them to figure out how to ensure that it didn’t work, which lead to a couple more successful jams on their side of things.

Peggy quickly learned that Detroit didn’t play as dirty as LA, but they played with more strategy and skill. Fortunately, the New York team also had a few tricks up their sleeves that were well communicated through previously agreed upon gestures, usually done by Dottie or Angie. The first quarter went by quickly and brought good results for the home team, the score being at 71-63. It was a good start, one that they planned on building on. 

The second quarter didn’t go quite as well. Detroit seemed to suddenly remember that this was indeed a championship and that they also had strategies. New York did well too, just not well enough to keep the previous eight-point lead. Surprisingly enough, though, there were only two penalties throughout the entire game so far. Peggy gave a pointed look to Dottie, who was the reason for both of those, who simply shrugged and prepared for the third quarter after checking the scoreboard to make sure they were still winning. 

They were not. The score was 123-127. Angie skated up to Peggy, still somewhat out of breath from the intensity of the last few jams. 

“English, they’re good. I’m not sure we’ll win this,” she said.

“We will.”

“You sure?”

“Are you doubting me?” Peggy asked, purposely repeating Angie’s words from the last match.

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Angie said, echoing the response she’d received and smiling as they skated together to the line, ready to take the victory for their team.

The first whistle of the quarter blew, closely followed by the second, and as the announced put so eloquently, “The broads from New York are back with a vengeance. They keep this up, there’s no way they’ll lose tonight.” Peggy smirked back at Angie before the second jam began, but turned back around quickly to get ready. Dottie directed Peggy, Evelyn, and Mary effortlessly, making Angie’s job significantly easier. But the match began to turn violent. A few of Detroit’s blockers tried to trip Angie as she passed, but only one was successful, and she was given a penalty. Elbow jabs were exchanged between blockers, but only a few were called out. Dottie and Peggy both managed not to punch anyone, but they did both get penalties for other things. No more than the girls from Detroit managed to rack up, though.

The third quarter ended better for New York than the second had, but it wasn’t good. The last few jams had torn down the large lead they’d gotten on Detroit, putting the score at 201-201, which neither team was too happy about. 

“Angie?” Peggy said as she skated up to her.

“Yeah, English?”

“I just want to say, even if we don’t win, thank you for convincing me to do this. I’ve had a lot of fun, even if I’ve only done a few matches.”

“Doubting me? We’re gonna win. Dottie and I have been saving a couple plays for this quarter. They won’t even know what’s hit ‘em.” Peggy smiled.

“Good. Now I believe we’re expected back on the starting line shortly.”

They skated to the line, waiting to use all the adrenaline still running through their veins. Angie and Dottie spoke for a second, before taking their places just before the whistle blew. The first jam went by similarly to how others throughout the game had, leaving Peggy to wonder what plays they’d been holding out on. It wasn’t until the third jam that anything out of the ordinary happened, and that was just Dottie getting a penalty for kicking the jammer, who also had to sit out for fighting back and minor injuries. Their backup jammer was no match for Angie, giving her the opportunity to gain a large lead before the Detroit blockers retaliated and punched her. Peggy looked at her with concern, but Angie smiled as the girl got a penalty. 

Dottie and Angie skated over to the referee and asked if they could switch roles for the last few jams due to Angie’s injury from the punch. He acquiesced and both of their smiles somehow grew wider. Detroit was still using their backup jammer, and a sixth player was taking over the vacant blocker position. This time, Angie acted as blocker and gave just enough space for Dottie to easily weave the crowd, and for a brief moment Peggy wondered why this wasn’t the setup the always used. Yes, Angie was faster, but Dottie danced through the pack effortlessly and left the other jammer stuck behind. By the time their was only one jam left, New York had a seven point lead that Detroit knew they couldn’t break easily. They got their usual jammer back in the game, but New York kept Dottie as theirs. When there was only enough time left for one lap, Dottie made a move many would consider stupid, and made to skate right off the high edge of the track right behind the back. However, she had enough momentum to direct herself back onto the track by spinning and effectively completely foregoing all of the other skaters. Peggy was, to say in the least, extremely impressed, and the rest of the skaters were just as, if not more, awestruck.

Needless to say, the New York team won with a nine point margin, the final score being 271-262. The Detroit fans and team were disappointed, but the cheers were louder than ever before. All of the New York team banded together in a vaguely circular shape as the announcer tried to speak over the crowd.

“Congratulations, girls! We’re the national women’s roller derby champions! We won!” Angie said to the rest of the team. Evelyn and Mary skated off to get changed with the players from Detroit as the spectators began to slowly filter out.

“I have to ask, Dottie, how on earth did you pull that move back there?”

“Perks of being a ballerina, I guess,” she said with a bright smile and a shrug. Peggy shook her head in disbelief, but was smiling too, nonetheless. 

Angie leaned slightly on Peggy, biting her lip slightly before saying, “I told you not to doubt me.”

Dottie left to change as well when most of the crowd had dispersed. Howard, however, was still there and was walking towards Peggy. “Congratulations, Peg! Jarvis said you didn’t like the flowers, so I didn’t get you any this time.”

“You actually listen to other people’s likes and dislikes? I would’ve never guessed.” Angie did her best to stifle a laugh at the retort, but failed miserably.

“Hey, just so you know, if you ever need anything, skates or whatever, call me. I owe my life to you, Peg. If you hadn’t saved me back in the war, I’d be dead.”

“Thank you, Howard.”

Howard lowered his voice so only Peggy could hear him. “That Angie Get Your Gun girl is cute. Is she single?”

“Don’t you dare, or I will use some of the skills I’ve acquired during war and the derby on you.”

“Alright, I got it. I won’t. Bye.” There was a hint of fear in his voice that made Peggy smirk in satisfaction.

“What’d he say?” Angie asked a moment later.

“Oh, nothing important.” The crowd was all gone at that point, and the announcer, referee, and a few skaters were starting to leave as well.

“Do you wanna go get changed?” Angie questioned when Peggy showed no signs of movement. She shook her head, watching as Dottie waved at them and then walked through the exit.

“I just want to skate a little more. Without all the competition and crowds. The next season is months away. I just want to skate a little.” Angie nodded and moved to the track, grabbing Peggy’s wrist and pulling her along. She dropped her arm and started to move at a leisurely pace, far slower than they ever skated even in practices. Peggy followed in suit.

Angie let out a breath as she considered her options and made a quick and probably stupid decision. She reached out her hand and interlaced her fingers with Peggy’s, watching her for a reaction. Peggy looked at her surprised for a second before smiling and continuing skating. 

“English, I know you’re afraid of loss and stuff, and I’ve been thinking it over and I think that’s part of why you’ve been pushing me away. So, I need you to know that you aren’t gonna lose me anytime soon. You can’t get rid off me that easily. I mean, I know people die randomly and all that, but the chances of me bein’ one of those people is pretty slim and you certainly won’t lose me because I voluntarily leave or something, so you need to stop pushing me away if that’s the reason, okay, English?” Angie looked at her somewhat desperately and squeezed the hand in her own.

Peggy took a deep breath of her own. “I told you about Steve. He just died one day. People do just randomly die. And the loss hurts. It feels like it must be better to just not have anyone to lose in the first place.”

“There’s some quote about that in a poem, right?”

Peggy smiled. “‘‘Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.’ Tennyson wrote it.”

“I agree with Tennyson, then. You thanked me for asking you to join earlier, so I’m going to thank you for joining. You helped me understand that quote and thousands of others.”

“What do you mean, Angie?”

“Well, it’s hard to fully comprehend quotes and sayings about love when you’ve never actually been in love.” Angie waited for a response, but when she didn’t get one, she added quietly and timidly, “You helped me with that.”

Peggy looked at her surprised again as they slowed to a halt and Angie turned to face her, connecting their free hands and standing on her toes a little to kiss her. Angie moved one of her hands from Peggy’s to wrap her arm around Peggy and pull her closer, but Peggy backed away slightly, effectively ending the kiss.

“Oh. Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry, English, I shouldn’ta done that, I’m sorry. I thought... I guess I’ve just been readin’ the signs wrong and making stuff up in my head. I, uh, I should go. I understand if you never wanna see me again, but I can do the ‘just friends’ thing if you want. I mean-” Angie rambled before Peggy cut her off.

“Shut up, Angie. You talk too much,” she said before kissing Angie again, neither one of them pulling away for much longer this time.

*

It was long past Angie’s curfew when she and Peggy walked into the Griffith, moving as quietly as they could. Unfortunately, Ms. Fry was standing there waiting for her, holding something behind her back and looking at her, equal parts disappointed, angry, and smug. “Ms. Martinelli, it’s over an hour past curfew.”

“Ms. Fry. I know, but you remember Peggy, right? Her husband was beating her again, and she lives kinda far out and you know how traffic is and I had to go and pick her up so that she could get away from him and I had to work late at the diner.”

“Really?” Ms. Fry asked, revealing the nearly empty bottle of Schnapps that she had been holding behind her back. “Ms. Martinelli, I have a strict set of rules, and expect my tenants to follow them. You have broken two of them now, so I feel that I have no choice but to ask you to leave. I will let you sleep here tonight and give you three days to find a new place, but after that I’m afraid I’ll have to send you out and find someone else for the apartment.”

“Ms. Fry, I-”

“Save your energy for trying to find a new place to live, Ms. Martinelli.”

*

“Howard,” Peggy said when the call connected, “you said if I needed anything to ask. Well, I need a place for me and my friend to live. She just got kicked out of her apartment and mine isn’t big enough for two people.”

“Friend?” Howard asked obnoxiously, causing Peggy to roll her eyes in a dramatic manner. 

“Angie, from the derby. Can you get us a place to stay?”

“Ah, so you wanted me to leave her alone so you could have her to yourself,” he responded smugly, not answering Peggy’s question, and prompting a second eyeroll. 

“Howard, can you do it?”

“Yeah, I’ve got an extra place in New York. I’ll give you the address and get Jarvis to help you two move in. Free of charge.”

“Thank you so much, Howard.”

“Yeah, yeah. I know, I’m amazing.”

So Peggy and Angie moved into the “extra house” which was actually an impressive mansion that made Angie’s jaw drop.

“You’ve got some rich friends, English,” she said as they walked into the mansion, led by Jarvis.

Angie kind of blocked everything he said out until she heard, “...you and Ms. Carter for as long as you may require it,” and smirked pointedly at Peggy who smiled back at her. 

“It’s a bit far from the roller derby rink,” Peggy commented.

“We’ll live with it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for sticking around! chapter nine will be short-ish, probably around 1000 words rather than 2000 (or 3000 like this chapter) and it's an epilogue that is my attempt at cute established relationship fluff.


	9. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried. This is much shorter than what I originally intended, but I'd written everything I felt like I needed to. Without further ado...

“When does derby season start up again?” Peggy asked as she stirred the coffee absentmindedly and for no real reason, seeing as she drank it black. She was seated at a grand dining room table, courtesy of Howard Stark, and sitting across from Angie.

“Not for another couple of months. Why?”

“I just sort of miss the excitement.”

“I feel like you’re calling me boring, English.”

“Never. You are many things, but boring is not one of them. I mean, the weekly near-fire experiences are quite thrilling,” Peggy joked, smirking across the table.

“Oh, come on. At least I’ve never actually started a fire while cooking,” Angie responded in an accusatory tone.

“That was one time, and I admitted defeat and have given up on trying to cook. Perhaps you should do the same.”

“Well then who would cook for us?”

Peggy shrugged nonchalantly. “Jarvis, like he does half of the time anyways. Or professional chefs at restaurants like the other half of the time.” Angie rolled her eyes at the response.

“I’d hardly call the cooks at the automat ‘professional chefs,’” she remarked.

*

“English?” Angie asked softly one night. She was leaning on Peggy on a no doubt ridiculously expensive couch and her head was resting on Peggy’s shoulder. Peggy was reading some mystery novel as she wrapped her arm around Angie’s shoulders and absentmindedly ran her fingers through light brown curls.

“Yes, darling?” she responded, not looking up from her book, which in truth, Angie was quite grateful for, seeing as she still blushed every time Peggy used any term of endearment with her. But that wasn’t the point.

“When I kissed you right after the championship, why did you pull away?” she asked a bit hesitantly. 

Peggy sighed and closed her novel before haphazardly tossing it onto the table beside the couch. It slid to the edge but didn’t fall off. Peggy looked up and Angie and shifted their positions slightly so she could hold her hand and look into her eyes. “Surprise, maybe. Perhaps fear. To tell the truth, I’m not entirely sure why, but I do know one thing for certain.”

Angie wasn’t entirely satisfied by the response, but opted to humor Peggy anyways. “Oh? What’s that?”

“Well, you see, when I first met you and you asked me to join the roller derby, I assumed that I’d fall quite a bit. But I could’ve never predicted that I would fall in the way that I have. What I’m trying to say here is that I’m afraid I’m falling in love with you.”

Angie smiled and fought to keep her composure rather than do something stupid. She kissed Peggy briefly before saying, “ Good, because I’m falling for you too, English.”

Peggy smiled brightly and couldn’t believe that there was a time when she’d considered not spending every second she could with the woman in her arms. Had she voiced this, Angie would have quickly assured her that the feeling was not mutual, but only because she’d always wanted to spend time with Peggy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanna take this time to thank everyone who has read this and stuck with it, especially those of you who have left kudos and comments. Some of you probably have no idea how much that means to me and writers in general. I started this nearly a year ago (seriously, it's only like 17 days shy of a year) and it feels so amazing to finally be done with it. That's not to say I didn't love writing it, but completion is a rare feeling for me. Anyways, I was thanking people... okay next is my friends who have sat through my ramblings about roller derby and how hard it is to find info on 1940s roller derby. Next, I'd like to thank mjwriting for giving me the original idea for this and letting me run wild with it. And finally, I wanna thank my amazing sisters who helped me through this and reminded me constantly that I'm not a terrible person for taking a lot of time between updates. That's a wrap, y'all. THANKS TO ALL OF YOU.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to leave comments. Criticism, ideas, complaints, compliments, mistakes I made, whatever. I love feedback.


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